The movie “Birds of Prey” is an action/superhero film for characters that are really villains, in a way.
This movie used an all female cast for its main protagonists, all five of whom have their own unique background.
Margot Robbie’s lead role
Leading cast member Margot Robbie is Harley Quinn, the character the movie revolves around. Robbie was born in Australia and for the majority of her life she lived there while acting, until Robbie decided to immigrate to the U.S.A. to pursue a Hollywood career.
In 2016, she played Harley Quinn in the Warner Bros/DC movie “Suicide Squad.” She then believed she needed to make Harley Quinn have her own movie and soon enough, “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” was filmed. Appearing on “The Graham Norton Show,” Robbie said the movie was an example of “Girl Power.”
The movie did portray women having major roles throughout, and Robbie in an interview says, “I really had a, you know, personal craving to work with more actresses.” The movie ended up reflecting a girl gang kicking butt at the end.
The Girl Gang
Member No. 2 of the girl gang was Jurnee Smollett, a citizen of the United States, out of New York City. She played Black Canary, who ended up being friends with Harley Quinn. Smollett is multiracial, her father being Jewish and her mother African-American.
Girl gang member No. 3 was Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Winstead is a citizen of the United States, who was born in Rocky Mount, NNC, but was largely raised in Sandy, Utah. She has experienced two cultures as Utah and North Carolina are across the country from each other.
Member No. 4 is Rosie Perez. She is of Puerto Rican descent, but was raised in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. She has experienced a lot, being around others in New York and California.
Member No. 5, the youngest and newest to the acting stage, is Ella Jay Basco. She was born in Los Angeles, Cali. but identifies proudly with Filipino and Korean ancestry. Her uncles are current actors, Dion and Dante Basco.
These women all have different races, ethnicities, and cultures. This cast is unique from others because of how strongly diverse they are, how they aren’t all the same racially or culturally. That diversity truly brings out each other’s characters in the movie.
I was a huge fan of this film for multiple reasons, all in which were stated above. Not only were the main protagonists of this comic inspired film all female, which is not seen often in this genre of movie, but also they were all diverse. I thought this piece was very informative about each individual’s background, and I enjoyed how you included Margot Robbie stating that she was eager to work with more actresses.
Apparently I need to watch this movie! I’m proud of the predominantly diverse and female cast they brought in. The movie does a good job tying together cultural nuances very subtly. Thank you for writing this!
I haven’t seen this film yet but I was happy to see more women in superhero movies as there were only three or four in the first Suicide Squad film. It is also great to see Margot Robbie advocating for herself and other female actors as it opens up opportunities for them in the future. This movie shows a lot of that “girl power” Robbie talked about in the first part of the article. All in all, it’s great to see more women, specifically diverse women, in such a huge movie.
I think I speak for all when I say we need to see more media and films with the stars being females/ women. this articles illustrates how a group of females can come together and get something special done with a purpose. I think this text gave a good overview of each person’s past, and I liked how you incorporated some of their phrases on working with the others.